


Two Pictures

by Andromytta



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Michael Possessing Dean Winchester, Unresolved Ending, Wayward Sisters Mini Bang 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-27 16:29:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16222946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromytta/pseuds/Andromytta
Summary: Dean Winchester saved my life.  Not just in the literal sense that he didn’t let some creepy monster eat me.  He saved my life in every sense of the word.  He helped me come to terms with losing my parents in the worst possible way.  He helped me find a new family when I had none.  Dean Winchester saved my life.  Now, now I would save his.





	Two Pictures

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Wayward Sisters Bang with amazing art by [Tully Tree](https://five-p-m.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Title is inspired by the Jason Manns' song "Two Pictures." I listen to Jason pretty exclusively when I'm writing, and the vibe of this song seemed to fit this story. It's also a reference to the "two pictures" of Dean featured in the fic.

**Prologue**

 

Dean Winchester saved my life.  Not just in the literal sense that he didn’t let some creepy monster eat me.  He saved my life in every sense of the word. He helped me come to terms with losing my parents in the worst possible way.  He helped me find a new family when I had none. Dean Winchester saved my life. Now, now I would save his.

 

I’m not about to lose another father figure to angelic possession.

 

Fine, yes, I’ve more than forgiven Castiel for taking my dad from me.  But Castiel is not Michael. Castiel saved the world, because of the sacrifice my dad made.  Michael wants to watch it burn, and he wants to use Dean to do it.

 

And I’m going to stop him.

 

***

 

“Claire, you cannot just go off halfcocked after a fucking archangel!”  Jody shouted from the porch as Claire threw her duffle bag into the trunk of her Subaru.

 

Claire slammed the trunk shut and walked over to Jody, her blonde braids swaying with her movement.  She wrapped the older woman in a warm hug. “I know you’re worried. But I’m not just going in without a plan.  And I’m not going alone. Kevin is coming with me.”

 

“How is that a plan?” Jody asked in disbelief.

 

“Kevin is a prophet.  He’s been studying the angel tablet the guys brought back from Apocalypse World.  If anyone can figure out how to expel an angel from their vessel, he can. Then we’re going to open the portal and send that douchebag with bad fashion sense back from whence he came!”

 

The determination and fight in her blue eyes were undeniable.  It didn’t make Jody any less worried. “You should take Sam and Cas with you.”

 

“Jody, I-I can’t.  I can’t let them be there just in case…”  She trailed off before adding, “I can’t let them watch me kill Dean!  Just in case it comes to that, I mean.”

 

“How are you going to kill an archangel?”

 

“I haven’t figured that part out yet.  The plan is to expel him, remember?”

 

“Claire, you need to have a backup plan.  You’re no good to anyone if you’re dead.” Jody looked at her with soft eyes.  “I can’t lose another kid” went unsaid. It didn’t need to be said. Jody wrapped her pseudo-daughter in her arms and held her tightly.

 

“I have to do this, Jody.”  Claire whispered hoarsely. “I can’t lose someone else like that.”

 

“I know, I know.”

 

Six hours later, Claire was pulling into the garage at the Men of Letters bunker.  She had been spending so much time there with Kevin and Charlie that the guys (Dean) finally gave in and gave her a key of her own.  When she walked in, Kevin was hunched over his laptop, giant coffee in hand, and he was muttering in what might have been Enochian. Charlie met her at the bottom of the stairs.  “How is he?” Claire asked the perky redhead.

 

“Not good.  He’s still having visions.  It’s bad, Claire. Michael is bad.”

 

“I know, Charlie.  That’s why we’re going to stop him.”

 

Kevin burst from his seat, triumphant.  “I’ve got it! I figured out how we can track him!”

 

“Have you found a way to stop the visions too?” Charlie asked.

 

“Yes.  Well, sort of.  If this works it won’t stop the visions so much as transfer them.  You can’t stop a prophet’s visions, but maybe, I can temporarily pass them to someone else.”

 

“Great.  What do I have to do?”  Charlie volunteered. It was already decided that Charlie would stay behind while Claire and Kevin went after Michael.  Someone had to stay at the bunker and monitor everyone. Sam and Cas were away working on their own plan, and she had to stay to help them too.

 

“You can’t do it, Charlie.”  Kevin looked at Claire for the first time since she walked in.  “I’m sorry, but it has to be you.”

 

“Great.  What do I have to do?”  Claire parroted Charlie’s words.

 

“Wait, why does it have to be her?  I don’t think it’s a good idea for someone to be out hunting while being driven to distraction by prophet visions.  Or whatever.” Charlie protested.

 

“It has to be Claire because she and Dean share a special bond,” Kevin said.

 

“Wait, if anything Dean and I have a special bond.  He is my handmaiden after all.”

“No, Charlie, that’s not what I mean,” Kevin explained.  “Dean and Claire both have residual angel grace. Castiel’s grace.  Dean from when Cas rescued him from Hell, and Claire from being possessed by him.”

 

“Wait, that was years ago.  How did you know that anyway?”  Claire asked.

 

“It was in the Winchester Gospels.  I’m a prophet of the Lord, I’m familiar with the Gospels.”

 

“Yeah, because I downloaded them to your laptop,” Charlie said.

 

“Regardless, it’s right here in the text.   _When Castiel raised Dean Winchester from Perdition, he pieced his soul back together using bits of his own grace._  So, it stands to reason he’s got some floating around in there.  And angels always leave a bit of themselves behind after possession.  And it doesn’t go away. We just have to get that part of you to reach out to that part of him.  I think I found a spell to do it. If this works, not only should we be able to track him down, you should be able to communicate with Dean.  The bond should also reroute any Dean-related visions from me to you. Of course, as the keeper of the Winchester Gospels, I’ll still know what Sam and Cas are up to.  But the Dean stuff should be all you.”

 

“Great.  I’ve always wanted to see what goes on in Hasselhoff’s head.”

 

Charlie and Kevin looked at Claire in shocked disgust.

 

“That was sarcasm.  Jeez.”

 

Kevin and Charlie stared at her in silence for a beat before Claire broke it.

 

“Ok, so what do I have to do for this spell?”

 

“Well….” Kevin hesitated.  “I have to paint sigils on you.  In Dean’s blood.”

 

Claire didn’t even flinch.  “Well, that’s just great. We don’t have Dean!  How are we supposed to get his blood?”

 

“We have some in the infirmary.  Sam and Dean keep it stocked.”

 

“Oh.  Well, get on with it then.”

 

“Alright.  I have to go get it first.”

 

While Kevin was gone, Charlie maneuvered Claire into a chair in the library.  “Are you sure you want to do this? Without Sam and Cas? We can call them. You can all work together.”

 

“Charlie, I can’t work with them on this.  What if…what if I have to kill Dean to stop Michael?  I can’t let them see that. I just…can’t.” Claire put a smile on her face.  “Besides, if I can get through to Dean, maybe he can eject that asshole all by himself.”

 

“I hope you’re right.”

 

“Me too.”

 

“Ok, here we go.  I warmed it up a little, because you know, they keep it in the fridge.”  Kevin came in carrying a bowl of, well, blood.

 

“Good.  Let’s get this show on the road,” Claire said.  She hated being idle. “What do I need to do?”

 

“Well, um, yeah…well…I um…I have to paint the sigils on your chest and arms.”  Kevin explained.

 

“Ok.” Claire said as she began shimmying out of her flannel shirt, tank top, and then sports bra.  

 

Only when Kevin and Charlie stood there gaping at her did she realize she’d never been this nude in front of her boyfriend before.  She cleared her throat loudly to get their attention.

 

Charlie hit Kevin on the arm.  “Dude, mazaltov.” She gave Claire a very approving look.

 

“Hey, can you stop objectifying me long enough to save Dean?  You can objectify later, ok?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Kevin said, finally breaking out of his trance.

 

Charlie giggled.  “Dude, you were in a boob trance.”

 

“Shut up,” he hissed at her as he set to work.

 

“So how does this work anyway?” Claire asked.  “I’m not, like, gonna show up half naked in front of Dean, am I?”

 

“No, it’s like astral projection.  You’re consciousness, or whatever, will connect with Dean’s and you should be able to talk to him,” Kevin explained.

 

“Ok.  Cool.”

 

Once the sigils were in place, Kevin began chanting in Enochian.  Claire’s blue eyes flared briefly before she slumped over, unconscious.  Kevin kept her upright until he and Charlie could lay her down on the sofa in the library.  Kevin pulled a blanket on top of her.

 

“Did it work?” Charlie asked.

 

“I think so?” Kevin sounded unsure.

 

***

 

Claire found herself in what appeared to be Dean’s room in the bunker.  Well, sort of, anyway. It was darker and dingier than she had ever seen.  Dean was a neat freak and kept an immaculate room. When she got her bearings and looked around, she found Dean huddled in the center of his bed, knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them.  His head rested on his knees.

 

“Dean!” Claire ran over to him, gently placing her hand on his.

 

“Claire?  What…what are you doing here?”  He asked dully, picking up his head to look at her.  He was unshaven, and his usual bright green eyes were dim and lifeless.

 

“I’m here to convince you to eject that douche.  Seriously, you should see what he’s making you wear.”  She shuddered visibly.

 

It didn’t even occur to Dean to question why or how she was there in the first place.  Instead, he just said, “Claire, I-I can’t.”

 

“Can’t or won’t?”

 

“Both.  Now go away.”

 

“No.  No way!  I am _not_ going to lose another dad like this!  Not this time. And not to evil! You have to fight him, Dean.  You have to!”

 

“You don’t understand.  If I try to fight him, he’ll hurt Cas and Sam.  You have no idea what he’s capable of. He said as long as I stay quiet, he’ll leave them alone.”  Claire had never heard Dean sound so defeated before. He didn’t even seem like the same Dean.

 

“They can take care of themselves.  I know they’d rather have you back, even if it means one more big bad is after them.  Come on, Dean!”

 

“No!  You really don’t get it!  There is no other big bad like this!  You don’t know what he’s done. What he did to his Castiel.  I just…I can’t let him do that to Cas.”

 

“He can’t do anything if he’s not in a vessel.”

 

“I wish that was true.”

 

Claire sat on the bed next to Dean.  “What do you mean? I thought angels were useless without a vessel.”

 

“Mostly, on Earth, that’s true.  But Michael doesn’t need a vessel to hurt…to torture Cas.  Here’s the thing: His Castiel and our Cas started off basically the same.  They both doubted the bigger picture. The difference is Cas had me and Sam to help him, show him he should have doubts, protect him.  That Castiel…he didn’t have anybody and Michael…he couldn’t have one of his commanders doubting him. He shredded his wings, Claire! And he didn’t need a vessel to do that…and other things.  He will do the same thing to Cas if I don’t cooperate. And do you really think it will be that hard for him to find a new vessel? Lucifer convinced the president to accept him! Michael could do the same, or worse.”

 

Claire stood and started pacing.  “Dammit, Dean! I already lost my dad to this stupid angel vs. demon bullshit! It was you, you who convinced me that his sacrifice was worth something.  He was a hero. Because of him, Castiel helped save the world. I don’t want to lose you, too. What is your sacrifice saving, Dean? Michael doesn’t want to save the world, he wants to destroy it!  To watch it burn! And you’re the only one who can stop him! Don’t you have any idea what he’s already done?”

 

“No.  I try not to.” Dean said miserably.

 

“Well, guess what?  Some of us don’t have a choice!  Did you know as a prophet and the keeper of the Winchester Gospel that Kevin sees _everything_?  Everything Michael does while riding you, Kevin can see that!  He hasn’t slept in weeks!” Claire was building up a full head of steam, taking a deep breath to start listing all the things that have been happening.

 

“Enough!  Claire, I know he’s a bad guy.  But if I try to stop him, he will go after Sam and Cas.  I can’t care what else is going on, I have to protect them.  It’s my job!”

 

Claire sat down again, looking at Dean with pleading, tear filled eyes.  “What about the rest of us, Dean?”

 

Dean took her hands in his.  “I’m trusting Sam and Cas to fix the rest of it.  You should, too. I’m sorry, but you should really just leave me alone.”  He dropped her hands and turned his back on her.

 

“Fine, Dean.  If that’s what you really want.”

 

“It is.”

 

It really wasn’t.  At least, that’s what Claire thought.  If anyone was crying out for help, it was Dean Winchester.  Claire would take in on herself to be the one to save him. Thus resolved, she let go of the magic powering the spell and found herself back in the bunker’s library.  She sat up with a gasp and Kevin thrusted her clothes towards her.

 

Charlie barely gave her a chance to get her bearings before she blurted out, “So?  What happened? When is he coming home?”

 

“He’s not,” she said miserably as she pulled on layer after layer.  She didn’t even bother with the damp cloth Kevin tried to hand her to clean the blood off of her skin.  “He’s terrified about what Michael will do to Sam and Cas if he tries to expel him.”

 

“What about what he’s doing to the rest of the world?” Kevin asked.

 

Claire shrugged.  “You know there’s nothing he cares more about than those two idiots,” she tried to joke.  It fell flat. She dropped her head into her hands. “Shit, you guys…I don’t know what Michael is doing to him, but it’s like Dean is broken.”  She sighed heavily and her shoulders slumped. “Guys, we have to save him. We just have to.”

 

Kevin sat next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.  “We will save him. Somehow.”

 

Charlie sat down on the coffee table in front of them.  “Did he say where they are? Does he know?”

 

Claire looked up at her, unshed tears shimmering in her blue eyes.  “If he does know, he didn’t say. He doesn’t want to be saved.”

 

“Well, now that you’ve done this spell, you can track him or whatever, right?” Charlie asked.

 

“In theory, yes,” Kevin replied.

 

“What do you mean ‘in theory’?” the girls asked in unison.

 

“I mean, it’s not an exact science.  No one’s ever done this before, ok?”

 

Claire crossed her arms with determination and shrugged.  “Ok, so what do I have to do?”

 

“Nothing now.” Kevin answered.

 

“What do you mean?  We need to start now.”

 

“No, no way.  You need to get some rest.  That spell we just did can be very draining.  And it’s after ten. You need rest. Also, take a shower.  You’re still covered in Dean’s blood, by the way.” Kevin explained.

 

Claire looked down her shirt as if noticing the blood sigils for the first time.  “Oh, yeah, look at that. I’m going to take a shower, then we can get started.”

 

“No.  You are going to take a shower and get some rest.  I refuse to do any more spells until you’ve had at least eight hours of sleep.”

 

“I can get by on four,” Claire protested.

 

“Eight hours, at least,” Kevin insisted.

 

“Ugh, fine,” Claire huffed and glared at him before stomping down the hall towards the room she kept at the bunker.  “But you’re staying in your own room tonight!” she called out without turning around.

 

“Awww, no nerd/hunter sex tonight,” Charlie said, sounding more amused than sorry.

 

“We’re not having sex anyway,” Kevin said miserably.  “Usually we just cuddle.”

 

***

 

Claire woke the next morning to the smell of bacon in the air.  When she looked at her clock, she groaned, realizing she slept for nearly twelve hours.  Apparently, Kevin was right and that spell took a lot out of her, though she’d never admit that to his face.  She pulled on the ugly brown hoodie she never gave back to him over her tank top and panties and made her way to the kitchen.  Her jaw dropped at the sight that greeted her. There were plates piled high with bacon, waffles, and eggs, but that wasn’t what caught her attention.  The kitchen was a disaster, and absolute disaster. It looked like every single pot and pan was dirty and piled in the sink. There was batter splattered on the walls, eggs stuck to the stove top, and bacon bits everywhere.

 

“Geez, you guys better hope that we _don’t_ save Dean.  Because if he sees what you’ve done to his kitchen, he will kill you.  He will literally kill you dead.” She said by way of greeting.

 

“Morning to you too, Sunshine,” Charlie said as she handed Claire a mug of coffee (black, with lots of sugar.)

 

Distracted from the mess by the coffee in her hand, Claire made her way over to the table.  As soon as she sat down, Kevin slid an overloaded plate in front of her. “Eat, you’ll need your strength if we’re going to go after Michael today.”

 

Claire thought about responding with a snarky retort, but the food smelled so good and she realized she was starving, so instead she ate her breakfast in silence. Kevin slid into the chair across from her with his own vegan breakfast burrito.  She just rolled her eyes at him. After serving Claire a new waffle, Charlie sat down with them, her own plate overloaded with breakfast food. Once they were all settled, they began discussing their plan of attack.

 

After a hearty breakfast, it was time to cast the tracking spell.  “This has never been done before,” Kevin cautioned for the hundredth time.  “I don’t know how accurate it will be.” “Or if you will even survive,” went unsaid.  Instead, that was said in the worried look his soulful brown eyes turned on Claire.

 

“You’ve said all this before!” Claire said, and she wasn’t just referring to what was said aloud.  “And I said it doesn’t matter! It’s _Dean_.  I need to save him.  No matter what.”

 

“Including your life?!” Kevin exclaimed.  It was apparent they had this fight many times already.

 

“I would already _be_ dead if it wasn’t for Dean!”

 

“Hey!” Charlie shouted.  “As much as I don’t want to encourage probable death for someone I love, this is our best way to save Dean.”  She turned intense hazel eyes on Claire. “Just, please don’t get dead, ok?”

 

“I’m not planning on it.” Claire said fiercely.

 

“Good,” Charlie said before turning to Kevin.  “Now, can we get this show on the road? I’m really sick of worrying about my people all the time.”

 

“Like you’ll be any less worried once we start this.”

 

Charlie rolled her eyes.  “Of _course_ I’ll be even more worried once you and Claire start traipsing all over Chuck’s green earth trying to find that mega douche!  But I can stop worrying once you bring Dean home and you are _all_ safe.”

 

“What makes you think we’ll have better luck than Sam and Cas have had so far?”  Kevin’s voice was becoming more and more shrill as his worry spiked and his old neuroses reared their ugly heads.

 

“Because they don’t have the tracking spell.”  Claire said reasonably.

 

“Only because I didn’t have it translated when they left!  Look, I can email it to Sam right now! Cas can do it just as easily as you can!  Maybe more so!”

 

Claire put her hand on Kevin’s forearm.  “You’re probably right. But, Kevin, can’t you see, I need to do this.  I have to do this for Dean,” she said gently, blue eyes gazing into brown.

 

He deflated.  “I know, I know.  I just…I don’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“I know you don’t.  But I’m a hunter, I’m going to get hurt.  It’s kinda in the job description. At least you’ll be with me this time.”  She smiled at him as if that made everything better.

 

“Yeah, fine.  Let’s just get this over with,” he replied.

 

Unnoticed by the others, at some point during their discussion, Charlie disappeared after receiving a text message.  She came back up from the basement carrying a large, golden egg etched with Enochian symbols. “Before you do anything, you need this!”  She thrust the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator at them.

 

“Why?” Claire asked.  “That thing was designed to exorcise demons, not angels.  I mean, I know it worked when Lucifer was playing president, but it didn’t work when Sam and Cas tried it, remember?  Something about not being able to knock an archangel out of his true vessel or something.”

 

“I know!” Charlie said.  “But, Ketch and that other me…she’s a genius, bee tee dubs, did their thing and recalibrated it or whatever, and now they think it will work.”

 

“They think? I don’t know if I’m willing to bet Claire’s life on ‘think.’” Kevin said dubiously.

 

“Well, there’s no way to really know until you try.  But it’s better than going in unarmed and unprepared.”

 

“Good point,” Claire agreed.  “We’ll try it! Now, Prophet Boy, let’s get this show on the road!”  Her tone brooked no room for argument.

 

“Ok, fine.  Strip.”

 

Once again, Claire removed her shirts and bra without issue.  Kevin painted a different set of blood sigils on her and chanted a different spell than last time.  She didn’t slump forward this time, instead her eyes rolled in the back of her head as if she was having a vision.  She stood stock still and a glow seemed to encompass her. “St. Louis,” she muttered. Suddenly, her eyes snapped back into place and she was truly back in the room.  “He’s in St. Louis! Let’s go!”

 

***

 

Two weeks, half a dozen states, and twenty some odd bodies later, Claire and Kevin were no closer to catching Michael or saving Dean.  So far, they had only managed to find where they were after they’d already left, leaving bodies with burned out eyes in their wake.

 

“What the Hell?” Claire shouted to the room in general.  “These people have nothing in common! Why is Michael killing _them_?”

 

“Charlie should have the DNA results in soon.  Maybe we’ll know something then,” Kevin said, trying to soothe his girlfriend.

 

“Do you…do you think her theory is right?”

 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense.”  Kevin’s phone rang at that moment. “But, we’re about to find out.”  He put his phone on speaker and set it on the table in their tiny hotel room.  They sat down on either side of it. “We’re both here, Charlie. What did you find out?”

 

“What, no ‘hello?’  Just, ‘what you got, Charles?’  Geez, you’re as bad as the Winchesters.  I expected better from you.”

 

“Hey, Charlie.  How are you?” Claire said with a soft smile.  She missed the red head.

 

“I’m…not good.  I walked in on the other me making out with Ketch.  I just stopped vomiting.”

 

“EW!” Claire and Kevin replied in unison.

 

“Yeah, I’m a bit traumatized.  But, I also have news for you. It’s, well, it’s not good.  It’s basically what we suspected.”

 

“Michael is killing angelic vessels.” Claire confirmed.

 

“Yeah.  I guess he found out about Jack going up to Heaven to make more.  He must be afraid they are going to take vessels here and try to stop him or something.”

 

Kevin reached across the table and took Claire’s hand in his.  “That makes our mission that much more dangerous. Claire, that makes you a target,” he said needlessly.

 

“I know that,” she snapped.

 

“I’m also sending this information to Sam and Cas.  They could both be targets too,” Charlie said.

 

“I thought Dean’s deal with Michael was that they were to be left alone?” Kevin asked.

Claire rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, and we all know how good he is at holding up his end of deals.  Charlie, tell them to be careful, ok?”

 

“Of course.  You guys be careful too, ok?”

 

“Aren’t I always?” Claire asked.  Kevin snorted. After minimal small talk and goodbyes, they disconnected the call.

 

“Fuck!” Claire shouted.  She stood up from the table, violently flipping it over in her wake.  “Fuck!” She shouted again, pacing the tiny hotel room and clutching at her long blonde locks.  She started muttering under her breath as she paced, the occasional shouted expletive the only intelligible syllables.

 

Kevin was worried about her.  Had been worried about her since they started this mission.  They’ve been hunting for two weeks, and in that time Claire hadn’t eaten and had barely slept.  Yet she insisted that Kevin keep performing the spell on her, despite how much it depleted her already strained energy resources.  She was going to come crashing down, hard, and sooner rather than later if he didn’t do something about it.

 

“I’m going to get dinner,” he stated.  She didn’t even pause in her pacing. She didn’t hear him or wasn’t paying attention to him.  That wasn’t unusual lately. He was almost starting to wish he had stayed back at the bunker with Charlie.

 

When he returned with food, it was to find Claire seated at the table typing furiously on his laptop.  The angel and demon tablets were on the table, along with all of his notes and both their journals.

 

"Babe, I got pizza. Your favorite, meat lover’s. Come on. Step away from the research and eat something."

 

Wild blue eyes turned on him with a look he had never seen before. "Fuck you. I eat glass!" She exclaimed.

 

The look she was giving him, while all manner of hot, was mostly terrifying. Kevin really did wish he had stayed back at the bunker with Charlie.  “Um, I’m just going to leave this here then,” he said slowly, setting the meat lover’s pizza on the bed closest to the table. He settled onto the other bed with a veggie, dairy free, gluten free pizza of his own.  When Claire didn’t even comment on his “flavor free” pizza, he knew something was wrong. Taking a deep breath to steel himself, he went into the eye of the storm.

 

Kevin carefully closed the laptop, trying not to pinch her fingers in it in the process.  He took both of her hands in his and turned her around to face him. “Babe,” he started, bracing himself for her reaction.  She just blinked slowly at him. He started again. “Babe, you can’t keep going like this. This spell, it takes a lot out of you.  You need to eat and sleep to replenish your energy. You’re no good to Dean if you’re a blubbering, drooling heap on the floor.”

 

Mentioning Dean seemed to be the right thing to do to snap Claire out of her stupor.  She looked at Kevin with unseeing blue eyes, blinking slowly at him as they came back into focus.  “Dean, I need to save him.”

 

“Yes, you do.  But you need to eat and sleep in order to do it.”

 

She sighed heavily and slumped against him.  “Shit. You’re right. I can’t save anyone if I die of starvation and sleep deprivation, right?”

 

Kevin laughed without humor.  “Yeah, exactly. So eat, ok? And then sleep.  Eight hours, no less. We’ll start again tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Claire said with mild resignation.  She climbed onto the bed that held her pizza, sitting cross legged in front of the box, her ankles propped on her knees.  She opened the box and inhaled the cheesy meaty goodness. “Mmmm…yessss,” she sighed almost erotically, which didn’t affect Kevin.  At all. She looked over at him where he was digging into his own pizza. “How’s your flavor free cardboard over there?”

 

“My pizza has flavor,” he replied petulantly.

 

They ate in companionable silence for a while before Claire spoke up and reminded them both of why they were there.  “What are we going to do, Kevin? We keep arriving too late to do anything.”

 

“I actually have a theory about that,” he said.  “I think maybe he can tell when we’re tracking him.  I’ve been studying the tablets, as well as the ancient texts Charlie uploaded to the MoL server, and I think there is a way to mask what we’re doing so he can’t tell when we’re doing it.  If so, then we can finally catch him by surprise.”

 

“And use the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator on his ass and send him straight to Hell.”

 

“Yeah, literally.  The other Charlie got the cage spell from Rowena, and I’ve figured out how to cast it.”

 

“You did?  That’s great!” Claire exclaimed, pushing her pizza box out of the way so she could climb off the bed.  She made her way over to the other bed and pushed Kevin’s pizza box out of the way so she could straddle his thighs.  She kissed him hard. “You are the smartest,” kiss, “sweetest,” kiss, “most amazing prophet ever!” She kissed him again before settling down next to him.  Claire laid her head on Kevin’s shoulder and they sat like that quietly for several minutes before Claire broke it again. “Don’t you think it’s weird that there’s another Charlie running around the bunker?”

 

“Not really.  It’s kind of like having hot red headed twins around,” Kevin chuckled.

 

Claire hit him with a pillow.  “God, sometimes you are such a _guy_!”

 

“Um, newsflash, I _am_ a guy.”

 

“Yeah, I know, but you’re not like, a normal guy.”  Kevin started to protest before Claire stopped him. “What I mean is, you’re, like, super awesome while most guys are just shitty.”

 

“Oh, well, yeah.  I am super awesome.” Kevin agreed with a grin.

 

“Our Charlie is way hotter than that other Charlie,” Claire continued her previous line of thought.

 

“They look the same.”

 

“Yeah, I know that.  It’s just…something about our Charlie.  She’s just hotter. I don’t know.”

 

“Well, yeah, I guess I get that.” Kevin agreed.  He turned to look at Claire to say something else on the subject when he noticed her dozing on his shoulder.  Carefully, he tucked her into the bed before cleaning up the detritus from their meal and settling into the other bed.  They hadn’t been sharing a bed at all on this mission, at least partially due to Claire’s poor sleeping habits.

 

“Kevin, get over here,” Claire said sleepily before he could get properly settled.

 

The next day, after Kevin insisted Claire eat a decent breakfast with her copious amounts of coffee, they performed the spell again.  This time, Kevin added several extra layers of angel warding that he got from the tablets to the sigils to both their room and Claire’s body.  “This should block our tracking signal from him, so we can catch him off guard,” Kevin explained.

 

“Good, because I’m tired of finding nothing but dead bodies in his wake.  We need to stop him.”

 

“I know we do.  And we will.” _I hope_ , he thought to himself.

 

Kevin did the spell with his usual precision.  Claire went into her trance and when she came out of it she announced that Michael was in Alliance, Nebraska.

 

“Where the Hell even is that?” Kevin said sarcastically.

 

“Oh. My. God!  He’s at Harvelle’s Roadhouse!” Claire exclaimed.

 

“Wait, what?  How do you know?”

 

Claire shoved a grey three ring binder at him.  “It’s in here! This is a copy of Sam’s journal.  He insisted I study it for lore and crap. Anyway, there’s a whole chapter about the Roadhouse!”  Claire would never stop being amused that Sam organized his journal in chapters. “Come on, Tran, let’s go!  There’s no telling how long he’s going to be there!”

 

“But how do you know he’s even there?”

 

“Because, that place means a lot to the guys.  Especially Dean. Ellen was like a mom to them!  Of course Michael the dickhole would take up residence there just to mess with Dean!”

 

Kevin was not at all freaked out by how well Claire seemed to know Michael.  Well, maybe he was a little freaked out. Ok, maybe a _lot_ freaked out by it.  But he couldn’t deny she was almost definitely right.  They made quick work of loading up Claire’s Subaru and headed towards Alliance.

 

Several hours later, they arrived at the burned out remains of Harvelle’s.  Instead of physically trying to hide Claire’s car, because that wouldn’t do any good, Kevin drew angel blocking sigils all over it in chalk.  “There, that will hide it from Michael better than anything. He literally won’t see it right in front of him.”

 

“Good.  Let’s go.”  Claire led the way into the decrepit building.  “Dean? Dean, are you here?” She called over and over as they picked their way through the debris.

 

“I don’t think he’s here,” Kevin said.  “But it looks like he is using this as a home base.”  He shined his flashlight across what remained of the bar.  On it were several newsboy hats lined up, in several shades of grey, brown, and black.

 

“Ugh.  These things are so stupid.  And not flattering on Dean whatsoever.” Claire griped.  She pulled her lighter out of her pocket.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I’m going to burn these things.”

 

“No!  You don’t want to draw attention like that yet.  We should hide and wait for him to come back.”

 

“After he’s killed somebody else?”

 

“Unfortunately, yes.  This is our best chance to corner him and use The Egg.”

 

“Fuck.  You’re right.  I hate it when you’re right,” Claire said petulantly.

 

“Really?  Because I kind of like it.” Kevin answered.

 

“Haha.  Funny.”

 

Kevin grinned at her as he put the final touch on the Cage Spell ingredients.  “I thought it was. This is ready. Now, you seem to know this place. Where should we hide?”

 

“Nowhere.  He’ll know we’re here either way, so I say we wait for him out in the open,” Claire said as she hopped up onto the one surviving pool table.  “I wonder if this is the one where Ash used to sleep,” she mused.

 

Kevin nodded.  “It is. What did you do, memorize Sam’s journal?”

 

“Maybe.  But how do know this is the pool table?”

 

“Um, hello, prophet.  I’m quite familiar with the Winchester Gospel, remember?”

 

“Oh.”

 

They sat side by side on the pool table, Claire spinning The Egg against the felt.  “How did this thing survive anyway?” she asked no one in particular.

 

Kevin shrugged.  “Fires are weird?”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

Their pondering was cut short when they heard a rustle of wings.  “Well, what have we here? A baby hunter and used up prophet? What do you think you can do to me?” Michael sneered as he loomed over them.

 

“This!” Claire exclaimed as she hopped off the pool table, held The Egg out, and chanted the spell, “Vada retro princeps inferni!”

 

The wind whipped around them, kicking up dust and debris.  Claire clung to the closest post while Kevin worked the spell to send Michael into the cage.  Michael was thrown back against one of the still standing walls, but instead of being ripped from his vessel, he just laughed.  “You really think that will work on me? Me?” He lifted a hand and sent Claire flying across the room, causing her to drop the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator and ending their attempt.  She lay unmoving on the concrete floor. Michael stalked over to her, raising a hand to smite her, when his hand stopped midair. “Stop fighting me, Dean!”

 

Kevin rushed over to them just in time to see Dean’s eyes flash with blue fire and settle back to green.  “Kevin, you have to get out of here. Get her back to the bunker.”

 

“Dean!  You stopped him!  Can’t you throw him out?”

 

“Your spell weakened him enough that I could stop him from killing Claire, but he’s strong, Kevin.  He’s really strong. I can’t hold him for long. Get out of here. Now!”

 

It was then that Dean lost control and Michael came back.  He looked Kevin up and down and levelled him with a derisive sneer.  “You know, we had one of you where I came from. He killed himself. For me.  Maybe I’ll just kill you, too.”

 

“Yeah, well, I bet your Kevin didn’t know how to do this!” Kevin shouted as he slammed his bloody palm onto the blood sigil he drew on the floor while he was talking to Dean.  Nothing else they tried may have worked against the archangel, but that sigil still managed to banish him, and he was blown away in a blast of bright light. He lifted Claire into his arms.  “Come on, let’s get you home. We’ll try again another time.” Once he laid her gingerly into the back seat of the car, he went back into the Roadhouse to retrieve the Hyperbolic Pulse Generator and all their other spell ingredients.  He also took a few extra minutes to gather up Michael’s hats and set them on fire, just because he could.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on Tumblr!


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